Friday, September 25, 2009

fractal geometry

You were dying to know why I've been hunting ferns, right?

For the month of September, 2009, the MSOE challenge is 'Fractal Geometry'. Fractals are self-similar: their parts mimic (more-or-less) the whole. Some of the exotic species within this mathematical family have precise familiar shapes, like the simplest rectilinear object you could imagine, the triangle. Others have organic lines like coast lines or plants. The fern is a stereotypical example; oblong leaves with branch off of veins which in turn branch off of other veins, in a self-similar manner.